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National Anthem of Russia

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical Recordings and
compositions

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   The Hymn of the Russian Federation (Russian: Государственный гимн
   Российской Федерации, Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the
   national anthem of Russia.

   It is an adaptation of the national anthem of the Soviet Union of 1944,
   with music originally composed by Alexander Alexandrov. The lyrics were
   revised for the anthem of the Russian Federation by Sergey Mikhalkov,
   who had supplied lyrics for versions of the Soviet anthem in 1943 and
   1977. The revision removes any mention of Lenin's ideas and the
   "unbreakable union" of the Soviet state, instead focusing on a country
   that is vast in area and rich in resources that will be entrusted to
   future generations.

   The hymn was adopted in late 2000 by President Vladimir Putin and
   replaced the The Patriotic Song, which had been the official anthem
   from 1990. Before and after the adoption of the new anthem, liberal
   groups raised concerns that the re-adoption of the Soviet anthem was
   returning Russia to the Soviet era.

Historic anthems

   Before Molitva russkikh (The Prayer of the Russians) was chosen to be
   the national anthem of Imperial Russia, various church hymns and
   military marches were used to honour the country and the Tsar. Molitva
   russkikh was adopted around 1815, and used lyrics by Vasily Zhukovsky
   set to the music of the British anthem, " God Save the King".

   In 1833, Zhukovsky was asked again to write lyrics to a musical
   composition by Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov called The Russian People's
   Prayer. It was well received by Nicholas I who chose the song, known
   more commonly as " God Save the Tsar", to be the next anthem. The song
   sounded very much like a religious hymn, and its musical style was
   similar to that of the other anthems used by European monarchs. "God
   Save the Tsar" was used until the February Revolution, when the Russian
   monarchy was overthrown. The tune is in several English-language
   hymnals with words beginning "God the Omnipotent! King who
   ordainest/Thunder thy clarion, lightning thy throne!" (or variants).

   Upon the removal of the Tsar and his family in March 1917, the Worker’s
   Marseillaise, a modification of the French anthem La Marseillaise by
   Pyotr Lavrov, was used as an unofficial anthem by the provisional
   government. Written in 1875, its use as anthem was short-lived. After
   the provisional government had been overthrown by the Bolsheviks in the
   1917 October Revolution, the anthem of international revolutionary
   socialism, L'Internationale (normally called in English "The
   Internationale"), was adopted as the new anthem. Eugène Pottier,
   another French national, wrote the lyrics to this song, and the music
   was furnished by Pierre Degeyter, a Belgian composer. Translated into
   Russian by Arkadiy Yakovlevich Kots in 1902, The Internationale was
   used as the anthem of Bolshevik Russia from 1918, and adopted by the
   newly-created Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922, to be used
   until 1944.

Music

   The music of the national anthem, created by Alexandrov, had been used
   in several hymns and compositions before its use in the Russian anthem.
   The first time the music was used was in the Hymn of the Bolshevik
   Party, created in 1938. When the Comintern was dissolved in 1943 it was
   felt that the Internationale, which was historically intimately
   associated with the Comintern, should be replaced as the National
   Anthem of the Soviet Union. Alexandrov's music was chosen for that
   purpose in 1944 by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Before Alexandrov
   created the Bolshevik hymn, he first used pieces of the music in the
   song Zhit' stalo luchshe (Life has become better).

   During the 2000 anthem debate, it was discussed in the newspaper
   Lenta.ru that the music Alexandrov created for the Soviet hymn was
   similar to Vasily Kalinnikov's 1892 overture Bylina. The supporters of
   the Soviet anthem used this fact in the various debates that took place
   in the Duma about the anthem change. There is no evidence that
   Alexandrov deliberately borrowed or used parts of Bylina in his
   composition.

Lyrics

   Sergey Mikhalkov, who wrote the anthem lyrics
   Sergey Mikhalkov, who wrote the anthem lyrics

   In 1943, Mikhalkov and G. El-Registan completed the task of writing the
   lyrics, which were approved a year later by Joseph Stalin, the Soviet
   leader. It was stated that Stalin himself edited parts of the lyrics
   before approving the anthem . Upon the death of Stalin in 1953, the
   lyrics composed by Mikhalkov and El-Registan were discarded during the
   process of destalinization by the government and continued to be used
   without any official lyrics. Mikhalkov wrote a set of new lyrics in
   1970, but they were not submitted to the Presidium of the Supreme
   Soviet until 27 May 1977. The new lyrics, which replaced any mentions
   of Stalin, were approved on 1 September and were made official with the
   printing of the new Soviet Constitution in October of 1977. These
   lyrics were used until 1991, when the Soviet Union separated into
   fifteen nation-states.

   From 1991 through 2000, people sent more than 6,000 proposed versions
   of lyrics to the committee on the national anthem. Although most of the
   entries used Glinka's music, some of them were set to Alexandrov's
   music and to other tunes. In 2000, the Kremlin and President Putin
   first decided that Alexandrov's music was to be preferred, then picked
   the lyrics written by Mikhalkov out of the contest entries, and worked
   closely with Mikhalkov rewriting parts of his lyrics until the final
   version was produced. Before the official adoption of the anthem, the
   Kremlin released a section of the anthem, which made a reference to the
   flag and arms:

          Its mighty wings spread above us
          The Russian eagle is hovering high
          The Fatherland’s tricolor symbol
          Is leading Russia’s peoples to victory

   When the final changes to the lyrics were being made in December of
   2000, the above section was not included. The new lyrics refer to the
   Russian homeland, spacious and grand, that is being entrusted to all
   generations by God. This is a complete change from the Soviet anthem
   lyrics, which speak highly of Lenin, communism, and pledge a "union of
   freeborn republics" will stand forever, united.

Modern adoption

   Before 2000, there were efforts to refine " The Patriotic Song", the
   Russian anthem adopted in 1991 by then President Boris Yeltsin after
   the collapse of the Soviet Union. The main problem with the anthem,
   composed by Mikhail Glinka, was that it did not have any lyrics.
   Various attempts were made to compose lyrics for the anthem, including
   the 1990 composition of Viktor Radugin's Be glorious, Russia (Славься,
   Россия! ("Slavsya, Rossiya!), but none were adopted by Yeltsin.

   The anthem debate picked up momentum in October of 2000 when Yeltsin's
   successor Vladimir Putin commented that Russian athletes were silent
   when the Patriotic Song was played during the gold medal ceremonies at
   the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. CNN also reported that players of the
   football club Spartak Moscow complained that the wordless anthem
   "affected their morale and performance". Putin pressed for the former
   Soviet anthem to be selected as the new Russian anthem, but strongly
   suggested that new lyrics were to be written. The Duma voted 371-51-1
   on 8 December 2000 to adopt the Soviet anthem and the new lyrics,
   written by Mikhalkov. Being signed into law by President Putin on 20
   December, the new anthem was first used officially on 30 December
   during a ceremony at the Great Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

   Not everyone agreed with the adoption—Yeltsin said that Putin should
   not have changed the anthem merely to "follow blindly the mood of the
   people". The liberal political party Yabloko stated that the
   re-adoption of the Soviet anthem "deepened the schism in [Russian]
   society". The re-adoption of the Soviet anthem was supported by the
   Communist Party and by Putin himself. Those who opposed the Alexandrov
   music attempted to not only keep the Patriotic Song, but also to have
   the Duma vote on the Tsarist military march, Farewell of Slavianka. One
   of the most famous Russian dissident writers Vladimir Voinovich even
   wrote a parody of the anthem as a sort of his proposal for the new
   anthem, showing Voinovich's disagreement with frequent changing of the
   state symbols. Sergei Yushenkov, a member of Duma, even suggested that
   this proposal should be considered and voted by the members of the
   Russian Parliament, but his proposal was refused.

Regulations

   When the anthem is played on TV, the Kremlin or the Russian flag are
   usually depicted.
   Enlarge
   When the anthem is played on TV, the Kremlin or the Russian flag are
   usually depicted.

   While it is the choice of the performer to execute the anthem using
   only music, only words or a combination of both, it must be performed
   using the official lyrics and music provided by law. After the
   performance is recorded, it can be used for any purpose, such as a
   radio or television broadcast. The anthem can be played during solemn
   or celebratory occasions, but it is required to be played at the
   swearing-in of the President of Russia, opening and closing sessions of
   the Duma and the Federation Council, and official state ceremonies. The
   anthem is also played on television and radio before the start and
   closing of programming or if the programming is continuous, the anthem
   is played at 2400 and 0600 hours. The anthem is also played at sporting
   events both in Russia and abroad, but according to the protocol of the
   organization that is hosting the games. When the anthem is played, all
   men's and women's headgear must be removed and people must face the
   Russian flag, if it is present. Those who are in uniform must give a
   military salute when the anthem plays.

   According to the Russian Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights,
   state symbols are not protected by copyright. Thus, the anthem music
   and lyrics can be used and modified freely. Although the Russian Anthem
   Law suggests accountability for performing the anthem in a way that
   could cause offense and disrespect, no provisions in the other laws
   have been made yet that would define such acts and set a penalty.

   On one occasion, Putin chastised the national soccer team in the summer
   of 2004 about the team's behaviour during the playing of the anthem.
   Before the start of tournament matches in the 2004 European Football
   Championship tournament, the team was caught on camera chewing gum
   during the playing of the Russian anthem. Putin, using Leonid
   Tyagachyov, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee as his messenger,
   told the team to stop chewing gum and sing the anthem. This message was
   delivered after the Russian team lost to Spain during the tournament.

Official lyrics

   Russian Transliteration English translation

   Россия — священная наша держава,
   Россия — любимая наша страна.
   Могучая воля, великая слава —
   Твоё достоянье на все времена!

   Припев:
   Славься, Отечество наше свободное,
   Братских народов союз вековой,
   Предками данная мудрость народная!
   Славься, страна! Мы гордимся тобой!

   От южных морей до полярного края
   Раскинулись наши леса и поля.
   Одна ты на свете! Одна ты такая —
   Хранимая Богом родная земля!

   Припев

   Широкий простор для мечты и для жизни
   Грядущие нам открывают года.
   Нам силу даёт наша верность Отчизне.
   Так было, так есть и так будет всегда!

   Припев

   Rossiya — svyashchennaya nasha derzhava,
   Rossiya — lyubimaya nasha strana.
   Moguchaya volya, velikaya slava —
   Tvoyo dostoyanye na vse vremena!

   Chorus:
   Slavsya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye,
   Bratskikh narodov soyuz vekovoy,
   Predkami dannaya mudrost narodnaya!
   Slavsya, strana! My gordimsya toboy!

   Ot yuzhnykh morey do polyarnogo kraya
   Raskinulis nashi lesa i polya.
   Odna ty na svete! Odna ty takaya —
   Khranimaya Bogom rodnaya zemlya!

   Chorus

   Shirokiy prostor dlya mechty i dlya zhizni.
   Gryadushchiye nam otkryvayut goda.
   Nam silu dayot nasha vernost Otchizne.
   Tak bylo, tak yest i tak budet vsegda!

   Chorus

   Russia—our sacred state,
   Russia—our beloved country.
   A mighty will, a great glory
   Are yours forever for all time!

   Chorus:
   Be glorious, our free Fatherland,
   Ancient union of brotherly people,
   Wisdom of the ancestors of the given people!
   Be glorious, country! We are proud of you!

   From the southern seas to the polar region
   Lay our forests and our fields.
   You are one in the world! You are one of a kind,
   Native land protected by God!

   Chorus

   Wide spaces for dreams and for living
   Are open to us by the coming years.
   Our faith in our Fatherland gives us strength.
   So it was, so it is, and so it will always be!

   Chorus
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